The story behind Kind Traveler, a new platform that reveals exclusive hotel deals and discounts when you donate to charity, is a story most travelers are familiar with. During a trip to Belize in 2012, founders Jessica Blotter and Sean Krejci—both entrepreneurs who had experience working with startups—came face-to-face with the kind of poverty that often exists in travel hotspots: Sure, we may be staying in the most luxurious hotels, but in locales like Phuket, the Riviera Maya, and many Caribbean islands, accommodations can often be anomalies within the town or country’s greater economic landscape.

As Blotter and Krejci’s tour bus made its way through Belize’s rural villages, the duo was confronted by this juxtaposition. “The bus had never been so quiet,” Blotter tells Condé Nast Traveler. “How could we get excited about visiting the Mayan ruins nearby and ignore the devastation around us? We made a choice to help.” Initially, Blotter, Krejci, and the rest of the bus decided to use the pit stop to buy food for the village. Seeing how inspired their fellow travelers were to be altruistic motivated Blotter and Krejci to find a way to pair travel with helping others. “Last year alone, more than one billion trips were taken," Blotter says. "That's one billion opportunities for travelers to become a force for good.”

Here's how it works: After donating (as little as $10) to one of Kind Traveler’s charity partners, users will be directed to the hotel’s own website to directly complete the booking with an exclusive rate. (100 percent of the donation is given in full to the charity of the user's choice.) The booking platform also serves as a hub for learning about positive enterprises within the travel industry; detailing the causes of its charity partners, including WildAid, World Food Program USA, and the Salvation Army. But it also displays the hotels’ own sustainability initiatives, including LEED certifications and community involvement initiatives. “Hotels get it,” says Blotter. “They know that today’s travelers are making choices that align with their desire to make a difference.”

Kind Traveler launched with 21 lifestyle and boutique hotel brands in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, including the James Hotels, Virgin Hotels, and 1 Hotels—and the deals can be significant. For example, at the James Chicago, where the average nightly rate is $192, a $10 donation can lower the price to $154—a discount of roughly 20 percent. And though it's enough to know that your contribution could be making a difference when it comes to doing right by others, the savings are an added bonus.